Chapter 38: Neither Speaks, Neither Lets Go

For the next few days, Wei Lan didn’t leave the courtyard of Fuqu Pavilion at all.

She spent almost every day in the workshop.

The feicui bangle, hairpin, and jade plaque were all already carved, but Wei Lan didn’t send them to Lu Zijin.

 

She was feeling hesitant.

These past few days, Lu Zijin hadn’t come to find her.

This was exactly the outcome she had wanted.

She and Lu Zijin should go back to how they were before, not interfering with each other.

That way, she could keep herself safe.

 

She looked at the three feicui carvings in the brocade box, sighed softly, closed the box, and put it back in her wardrobe.

 

There was still time.

Wei Lan went to her workshop.

From the feicui and the white jade Lu Zijin had given her, there were still some leftover scraps.

They weren’t enough to make anything else, but they could be made into 12mm beads, enough to piece together a bracelet.

 

Wei Lan didn’t have bead-making tools in her workshop, but Yuyaxuan did.

Besides, Wei Lan didn’t want to stay in the residence anyway.

She found a cloth, wrapped up these jade scraps, told the servants in the courtyard, and then went out.

 

It was the afternoon, the hottest time of day, but the streets were still very lively.

Wei Lan bought a bowl of sugar water from a shop on the street, drank it, and then headed to Yuyaxuan.

 

When Wei Lan arrived, Xiao Nanyan wasn’t at Yuyaxuan.

But the manager knew her.

Wei Lan said she wanted to borrow the machines, and the manager readily agreed.

 

Wei Lan went upstairs to the second floor, changed into a set of work clothes, and then went back downstairs.

 

The bead-making machines were in a side room on the first floor.

Wei Lan took the scraps and walked in.

She chose a newer machine and began cutting the jade material.

 

Wei Lan thought for a moment and decided to make these beads round this time.

Next time, when she had slightly better scraps, she would make them into old-style beads.

Anyway, making jade bracelets was addictive, and Wei Lan decided to take it slow.

 

Although ancient machines weren’t as good as modern ones, Wei Lan still found them fairly easy to use.

Before long, round, plump beads appeared before her.

Of course, the surface of the beads was still covered in a hazy film, but after polishing, they would look quite beautiful.

 

Wei Lan slowly cut and polished them using molds.

In the end, she made 22 beads in total.

Among them, there were only five ice-variety white feicui beads; the rest were white jade beads.

But it was enough to make a bracelet.

 

Wei Lan polished the finished beads with tools, spending the entire afternoon on these beads.

 

After all the beads were completed, Wei Lan wrapped them in a black cloth, put them in her pocket, and went upstairs to the second floor.

 

She changed back into her own clothes and, while there was still time, went to the Eastern Market to buy some thin string for stringing the beads.

 

Wei Lan walked and browsed, soon finding the place.

She spent over ten coins on a bundle of string and then headed back towards the Lu residence.

 

As she walked back, she was also distracted.

Before, when she didn’t think about the original plot, nothing happened.

But now that she was thinking about the original plot and the male protagonist, she felt uneasy.

Wei Lan sighed and continued walking back.

 

Just then, a carriage stopped beside Wei Lan.

In a daze, she heard someone calling her name.

She looked up and saw Qianxue sitting outside the carriage.

“Master, the young lady is also in the carriage.

Please get in.”

As she spoke, Qianxue and the driver on the other side got off the carriage.

Qianxue placed a small stool at Wei Lan’s feet, signaling her to board.

 

Wei Lan’s mood had been unsettled for the past few days.

She didn’t really want to be alone with Lu Zijin, so she politely refused.

“No need, no need.

I’ve been sitting at Yuyaxuan all afternoon, and my back is a bit uncomfortable.

I’ll just walk back by myself.”

 

Lu Zijin was sitting inside the carriage.

The slight smile on her lips slowly faded.

She was very happy today.

The royal merchant contract had been awarded to the Lu family, and the agreement had been signed with the government.

This matter was settled.

She had originally been thinking about how to reward Wei Lan.

But what was wrong with Wei Lan?

Did she not want to ride with her?

 

Lu Zijin lifted the carriage curtain and said, “Master, please get in.

It’s too hot outside.

Taking the carriage will get you back faster.”

 

Wei Lan looked at Lu Zijin.

The words of refusal were on the tip of her tongue.

In the few moments she hesitated, people had already started looking over.

If she refused, wouldn’t that embarrass Lu Zijin in public?

 

Thinking this, Wei Lan nodded.

“Alright.

I’ll get in.”

 

Wei Lan looked away, stepped onto the stool, and boarded the carriage.

The carriage walls were made of some material that made the inside quite cool.

 

Wei Lan sat down across from Lu Zijin.

The carriage fell into an awkward silence.

 

Lu Zijin naturally sensed Wei Lan’s discomfort.

She thought it might be because she had been too busy lately and had neglected Wei Lan, making her a bit unhappy.

 

In a good mood because of the royal merchant matter, Lu Zijin moved to sit next to Wei Lan.

She asked softly, “What’s wrong?

You look so listless.

Does your back hurt a lot?

Let me see.”

 

As she spoke, Lu Zijin reached out and touched Wei Lan’s lower back.

Wei Lan moved to the left, dodging Lu Zijin’s hand.

“It’s nothing.

I just sat for too long this afternoon.

I’ll rest more when I get back, and it’ll be fine.”

 

Lu Zijin’s hand paused.

She hadn’t expected her usually docile little Qiankun to dodge her.

Her expression cooled.

She withdrew her hand and said, “Then get some rest early.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Wei Lan nodded.

The carriage fell silent again.

 

Lu Zijin’s right hand clenched.

She had originally wanted to invite Wei Lan to her place for dinner and to stay the night.

But given the current situation, Wei Lan probably wouldn’t come either.

 

Lu Zijin pressed her lips together, hesitated for a long moment, and then still asked, “Would you like to come to my place for dinner tonight?”

“No need.

I want to go back, take a bath, and rest early.

Thank you, wife.”

Wei Lan looked at the floor as she spoke, not daring to meet Lu Zijin’s eyes.

 

Lu Zijin didn’t understand why Wei Lan had suddenly become so distant.

But she wasn’t the type to chase after someone either.

Since Wei Lan had said that, she had nothing more to say.

“Fine then.”

Lu Zijin replied coldly.

After that, the carriage fell completely silent.

 

It wasn’t until the carriage entered the Lu residence through the side gate that Wei Lan spoke.

“I’ll get off here.”

“Mm.

Stop the carriage.”

Lu Zijin leaned back against the carriage wall and said.

 

Wei Lan quickly got off the carriage.

After she got off, she let out a deep breath.

 

It wasn’t that Lu Zijin treated her badly.

It was mainly that she was afraid the plot of the book would come true.

Plus, she had seen Chen Zhou again a few days ago.

Wei Lan’s mind had been very unsettled lately.

She just wanted to avoid risk as much as possible.

 

Besides, she probably didn’t mean much to Lu Zijin anyway.

Every time Lu Zijin was with her, it was only because she was interested in her gland opening.

 

After Wei Lan had walked a certain distance, Lu Zijin finally spoke.

“Qianxue, go find out what the master has been doing these past few days.”

“Yes.”

Qianxue quickly responded.

She could feel the low pressure emanating from Lu Zijin.

 

Soon, a shadow guard came to report.

He bowed to Lu Zijin and said, “Young lady, the master has been staying in her courtyard these past few days.

She only went out today, and I heard it was to Yuyaxuan.”

 

Lu Zijin’s brow furrowed slightly.

She waved her hand at the shadow guard, who immediately left the room.

 

Lu Zijin was puzzled.

Wei Lan hadn’t gone anywhere else.

Why was she acting so strangely towards her?

Forget it.

She was just someone she married to save face.

She shouldn’t care too much about her.

 

Thinking this, Lu Zijin forced herself to continue handling matters, no longer thinking about Wei Lan.

But after a short while, she lost the desire to continue.

Wei Lan had been so clingy before.

Why had her attitude suddenly changed?

 

Lu Zijin could not figure it out, no matter how hard she tried.

But she still decided to give Wei Lan the cold shoulder for a few days.

She didn’t want Wei Lan to take advantage of her affection.

 

She said she wouldn’t think about her, but Lu Zijin was still thinking about why Wei Lan had suddenly become distant even as she went to bed that night.

She already had trouble sleeping, and this only made it worse.

 

Compared to Lu Zijin, although Wei Lan’s mood was also bad, she bathed and went to bed early after returning, unaffected.

 

***

 

Early the next morning, Wei Lan ate breakfast and then started stringing the beads.

There were 17 white jade beads in total.

For her own wrist, 16 beads were enough.

Wei Lan sat quietly at the round table, stringing the beads.

Soon, the white jade bracelet was finished.

 

She put the bracelet on her left wrist and prepared to go out and buy some jade rough stones.

 

She wanted to create some distance from Lu Zijin lately, so she would just make herself look very busy.

She went out early in the morning and headed to the Eastern Market.

 

This time, Wei Lan wanted to buy some different materials.

She had already carved white jade, feicui, and green jade.

This time, she wanted to change things up.

 

She went to Yingniang at the Eastern Market again.

Seeing her, Yingniang warmly welcomed her.

“Miss, what materials would you like to choose this time?”

“I’ll take a look.

I want to select some slightly better quality materials.”

Wei Lan said with a smile.

 

Yingniang quickly pointed further inside.

“Miss, then please come inside to the inner stalls to choose.”

 

She had many people coming and going every day, and it was hard to watch everything closely, so the slightly better materials were kept at the inner stalls.

“Okay.”

Wei Lan nodded and walked in.

She crouched down and looked at the pieces one by one, soon finding a piece of Qiemo blue material.

 

She picked up the piece and examined it carefully.

The jade’s natural oiliness was very good, and the color was beautiful.

Wei Lan fell in love with it at first sight.

She looked at the remaining five pieces of Qiemo blue on the stall and decided to take all six pieces.

 

After that, she selected three pieces of yellow material, two pieces of lotus-pink material, and one piece of violet material.

 

Wei Lan piled the twelve chosen pieces together, then stood up and said, “Boss, could you calculate how much silver these jade materials cost altogether?”

 

Yingniang was surprised by the materials Wei Lan had selected.

She had initially thought Wei Lan was just a rich young lady playing around on a whim.

She hadn’t expected Wei Lan to want to buy so many pieces at once this time.

And each of these pieces was larger than a human face.

 

Yingniang calculated.

These materials were already good, and this young lady didn’t like to haggle, so she would just give her the fairest price directly.

“Miss, you’re buying a lot.

I’ll give you a discount.

These rough stones cost 50 taels of silver in total.

You can’t carry them back yourself.

I’ll send someone with a cart to deliver them for you.”

 

Wei Lan nodded, took out her money pouch from her pocket, and paid.

“Okay.

Then I’ll trouble you, boss.”

“No trouble, no trouble.

I like dealing with straightforward people like you.”

Yingniang said with a smile.

Every time Wei Lan came to buy from her, she bought whatever she liked, without Yingniang having to spend any effort on sales talk.

 

Soon, the shop assistants at Yingniang’s place loaded the rough stones Wei Lan had just chosen onto a delivery cart.

The assistant followed Wei Lan towards the Lu residence.

 

When they arrived at the back gate this time, the guards immediately let them through upon seeing Wei Lan needed to transport things inside.

A few guards who wanted to curry favor with Wei Lan even followed attentively all the way, escorting Wei Lan back to Fuqu Pavilion, and even helped carry all the rough stones into Wei Lan’s workshop.

 

Wei Lan looked at the rough stones arranged in the wooden box on the floor and felt a little more at ease.

With so many rough stones, she could stay busy for two or three months.

 

In her past life, it was the same; she worked with jade every day.

And Wei Lan never got bored.

She found carving jade particularly stress-relieving; it emptied her mind and allowed her to focus entirely on the jade.

 

***

 

Lu Zijin was in the study handling matters.

She was somewhat distracted, her mind occasionally wandering to Wei Lan.

 

Lu Zijin would pick up her brush, then put it down again.

After hesitating for a moment, she still asked, “What is the master doing today?”

“The master went out this morning.

She bought a lot of jade rough stones back.

After returning, she has been in the workshop handling the jade and hasn’t come out.”

Qianxue quickly reported.

She carefully watched her young lady’s expression, feeling that she seemed a bit unhappy.

 

Lu Zijin’s red lips pressed tightly into a thin line.

She hadn’t slept well last night and had been distracted this morning.

Wei Lan, on the other hand, seemed unaffected, just going about her business as usual.

 

Lu Zijin was so angry she laughed.

She was the one deliberately keeping her distance, so what was she doing now?

She was just someone she married to save face.

Why did she care so much about her?

Thinking this, Lu Zijin forced herself to calm down and stop thinking about Wei Lan.

 

***

 

Over the next few days, Wei Lan was just as usual, spending almost all her time in the workshop.

She started using the Qiemo blue jade material to make a set of twelve zodiac jade plaques.

Wei Lan planned to make a complete set and then have Xiao Nanyan sell them for her.

 

Lu Zijin, meanwhile, was busy with the royal merchant matters.

The Lu residence had become the royal merchant exclusively supplying fabric for imperial officials.

There were still many people in Panyang City who hadn’t given up.

Seeing the royal merchant contract fall into the Lu residence’s hands, they thought the Lu residence would let them subcontract part of the business.

So, these days, many people had been sending visiting cards to the Lu residence, but Lu Zijin basically refused to see them.

 

She had her people hoard all the mulberry silk around Panyang City, to prevent anyone from buying it before her.

 

***

 

At this moment, Chen Zhou paced back and forth in his study.

He had sent many visiting cards to the Lu residence recently, but Lu Zijin refused to see him.

He wanted to send someone to the Lu residence to find Yun Xiang, but he was afraid of being caught by the Lu residence’s guards like last time.

Chen Zhou was almost furious.

 

In the end, he had no choice but to go to his mother and ask her to send a visiting card to the Lu residence.

“Mother, Lu Zijin refuses to see me now.

The royal merchant contract has already fallen into the Lu family’s hands.

But the court’s demand for fabric is huge; the Lu residence can’t possibly handle it all by themselves.

I want Lu Zijin to give us a share of it.

Otherwise, the mulberry silk I had people hoard earlier will rot in my hands.”

Chen Zhou said.

 

Zhou Yu’e thought for a moment and said, “I recall you and Zijin always had a good relationship.

Why has she suddenly refused to see you?”

“How should I know?

Maybe she found out that I planted spies in the Lu residence before.”

 

Chen Zhou sighed and continued, “And Mother, tell me, what kind of example is she setting, a Kunze appearing in public every day?

Just to keep the Lu residence from falling into someone else’s hands, she went and married a useless son-in-law.

The one who should have married her is me.

The master of the Lu residence should be me too.”

“Don’t rush.

Your cousin probably still remembers old times.

Maybe that useless Qiankun has led your cousin astray.

I’ll go over this afternoon.

After all, her mother is my distant cousin.

She should still give me some face.”

Zhou Yu’e said.

“Mm, Mother.

While you’re there, see if you can find out about Yun Xiang.

There’s been no word from her for a long time.”

After all, Tian Da was just a guard; he was far less important than Yun Xiang.

Yun Xiang was Lu Zijin’s personal maidservant.

“I know.

Ah, if you two had married earlier, the Lu residence would be yours by now.”

Zhou Yu’e sighed.

She had no real affection for Lu Zijin; she just wanted her son to inherit the property of a family without a male heir.

 

Especially now that Lu Zijin had another Qiankun, Zhou Yu’e felt even more strongly that Lu Zijin was unworthy of her son.

If her son did marry Lu Zijin for the Lu family’s property, she would have to pick out several concubines for him so he wouldn’t be wronged.

 

In the afternoon, Zhou Yu’e arrived at the Lu residence early.

Seeing that Lu Zijin had her taken to the study, Zhou Yu’e was slightly displeased.

 

But she didn’t show it.

“Zijin, your cousin said you’ve been very busy lately.

I was a bit worried about you, so I thought I’d come see you.”

 

Lu Zijin sat behind the desk, the corners of her mouth slightly lifted.

“I’m fine.

Aunt and cousin worry too much.

Please sit, Aunt.”

 

Lu Zijin had Qianxue bring a stool for Zhou Yu’e to sit on.

 

Zhou Yu’e frowned, but still sat down.

She looked at Lu Zijin and felt that compared to a year ago, Lu Zijin seemed like a different person.

She didn’t have that familial closeness towards her anymore; it was more like business.

“Aunt has been busy with household affairs these days and hasn’t come to see you.

You won’t blame Aunt, will you?”

Zhou Yu’e said.

 

Lu Zijin smiled at her.

“How could I?

After all, the Lu residence’s situation was much worse than before.

It’s only natural for relatives to drift away.

Come to think of it, several of the Lu residence’s businesses were taken by Chen Zhou.”

 

Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Yu’e’s face.

She had been aware of that matter too.

Her son, taking advantage of the chaos at the Lu residence, had snatched away several of their businesses.

She hadn’t expected Lu Zijin to remember it all.

 

Zhou Yu’e gave a few awkward laughs, then said, “Your cousin did it for your own good.

The situation at the Lu residence was dangerous then.

Having the businesses fall into your cousin’s hands was better than falling into strangers’ hands, don’t you think?”

 

The smile on Lu Zijin’s face grew wider, but the words that came out of her mouth were ice-cold.

“Naturally not.

To me, whoever takes it is still taking it.

There’s no difference.”

 

Zhou Yu’e was so choked by Lu Zijin’s words that she nearly couldn’t breathe.

She hadn’t expected Lu Zijin to be so blunt.

But she still forced herself to maintain a dignified face and said, “Zijin, are you blaming me?”

“Aunt knows perfectly well in her own heart.

Don’t act so smug after gaining an advantage.

It’s fine for us to keep a certain distance, at least we can maintain appearances on the surface.

I don’t want to say anything more unpleasant.

Please leave.”

 

As she spoke, Lu Zijin added, “Oh, and go back and tell Chen Zhou that I’ve already found the merchants I want to cooperate with for the royal merchant matter.

Tell him not to think about it anymore.”

“Zijin, how can you say such things?

How can you be so heartless?

I am your aunt, after all.

Chen Zhou is your cousin, your childhood sweetheart.

How can you disregard family ties?”

Zhou Yu’e said urgently.

“Family ties?

What were you doing when the Lu residence was in trouble?

You were stealing the Lu residence’s businesses, wishing you could get a bigger piece of the pie.

Aunt, we are all businessmen, not fools.

Your approach of playing the victim doesn’t work on me.

Please leave.

In the future, there’s no need for distant relatives like us to have much contact.”

 

With that, Lu Zijin looked up at Qing Zhi.

“Qing Zhi, see the guest out.”

“Yes.”

Qing Zhi quickly had several maidservants “escort” Zhou Yu’e out.

 

Zhou Yu’e cursed indignantly, “Lu Zijin, you ungrateful wretch!

Do you really think you can make it with that useless daughter-in-law?

I’m telling you, if you ever want to marry my son in the future, you’ll only be his concubine.”

 

Lu Zijin looked over coldly.

“Rest assured, only you think your son is such a treasure.

I don’t think much of him at all.”

 

After she finished speaking, Zhou Yu’e was “escorted” out.

 

Lu Zijin’s brow furrowed together.

How could she possibly like a scheming person like Chen Zhou?

He might as well have the words ‘I want the Lu family’s property’ written on his face.

How could she not see it?

Her own little Qiankun was much more worry-free, so obedient and cute.

 

But thinking of the past few days, Lu Zijin pressed her lips together again.

She hadn’t seen Wei Lan in days, and Wei Lan hadn’t come to find her either.

 

Lu Zijin felt a bit displeased.

She had originally said she would give Wei Lan the cold shoulder, but now it seemed she was the one being ignored.

That heartless Wei Lan didn’t seem affected at all, still carving her worthless jade every day.

 

Thinking this, Lu Zijin felt even unhappier.

She hadn’t slept well for days because of this.

What about Wei Lan?

Her little Qiankun had been eating well, sleeping well, and still had time to carve those worthless stones every day.

 

Oh, and what about the feicui bangle and plaque she had promised her?

She didn’t know if they were finished yet.

 

Lu Zijin looked at the account books in front of her, unable to focus at all.

She hadn’t expected that one day she would be guessing a Qiankun’s thoughts, and that it would leave her unsettled for days.

 

Lu Zijin’s fingertips clenched slightly as she said, “Qianxue, have someone bring the sedan chair.

I’m going to see the master.”

 

Then she thought for a moment and added, “Oh, and get some of the master’s favorite pastries from the small kitchen to bring along.”

“Yes, young lady.”

Qianxue quickly went to make arrangements.

 

After making her decision, Lu Zijin actually felt relieved.

Wei Lan was avoiding her, so she would just ask her why.

Why was she torturing herself guessing?

 

Thinking about how she hadn’t slept well for days, Lu Zijin wished Wei Lan would give her proper compensation.

She hadn’t slept well for three or four days, so she would have to sleep with Wei Lan for three or four days to make up for it.

 

At this moment, Wei Lan was still in her workshop carving a zodiac rooster plaque, completely unaware that Lu Zijin was coming to find her.

 

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